It’s Sunday, when I usually make a more complex meal for the week because I have the time to do it. This week’s been a little crazy between illnesses, Michelle’s work schedule, planning and packing for our trip down to Charlotte, and such, so I am trying to keep things simple for dinner today. I saw a nice London broil in the store yesterday so I decided to make a simple London broil for dinner tonight. I am also going to make some pierogies to go along with it. Michelle and Sean love pierogies and I saw in a blog that I follow, The Ranting Chef, that he was making them in a meal and they were also on sale at the store yesterday, so I bought some to make as well.

London broil is one of those cuts of beef that cries out to be marinated in some way. It takes on the flavors you add nicely, so just about any combination you want of an oil and an acid will work well. I am using a marinade that I often use for London broil. It’s quick, easy, and tastes great.

Marinated London Broil

1/3 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh thyme
Big dash hot sauce
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 pounds London broil

Mix the shallots, soy sauce, olive oil, thyme, hot sauce and lemon juice together in a glass pie plate, glass bowl or broiling pan. Score the steak, place it in the pan and turn in the marinade. Marinate for at least 2 hours at room temperature or up to 24 hours refrigerated. If refrigerated, turn the steak in the marinade occasionally.

Drain off marinade and put it into a saucepan. Place the steak under the broiler at 1 inch from the heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side for rare or for 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium. Leave the broiler door slightly ajar, so the heat stays on and air circulates. Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil. Remove the marinade from heat. Carve the meat in thin diagonal slices across the grain. Arrange the slices on a warm platter. Pour the carving juices and the marinade over the meat.

It’s fast and easy and tastes wonderful. The pierogies are just as easy. I bought frozen pierogies, so you can simply follow the directions on the box. I typically boil the pierogies until they float, about 4 or 5 minutes, then remove them from the water and drain them. I then saute them in a skillet with some melted butter and sliced onions until the pierogies are browned and the onions begin to caramelize, about 5 or 6 minutes. You can then add sour cream to them when you serve them if you wish.

The last part of our meal tonight is a staple in our diet, broccoli. I get a little tired of steamed broccoli so tonight I am going to try pan roasting it. Broccoli doesn’t take to well to pan roasting if you don’t watch it carefully, it can easily burn and get too dry. Trying to keep it tender and bright green can be tricky, but if you trim the broccoli to uniform size and cook the stems and the florets at separate times, it seems to work out pretty well. I’ve tried using this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen and it has worked pretty well for me.

Pan-Roasted Broccoli

3 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound broccoli , florets cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on bias into 1/4-inch-thick slices about 1 1/2 inches long (about 5 cups florets and 3/4 cup stems)

Stir the water, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl until the salt dissolves; set aside. In a large, nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add broccoli stems in an even layer and cook, without stirring, until browned on the bottoms, about 2 minutes. Add the florets to the skillet and toss to combine; cook, without stirring, until the bottoms of the florets just begin to brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Add the water mixture and cover the skillet; cook until the broccoli is bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until the water has evaporated, the broccoli stems are tender, and the florets are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes more.

A simple meal in very little time with not a lot of effort – just what you need on a busy day. I am just cooking a simple meal of burgers tomorrow night since I didn’t do any food shopping since we are leaving for vacation, but I do plan to do some posting once we get to Charlotte of some ideas and recipes that I like to make. Maybe I’ll do some Easter ideas and some simple party recipes. We’ll see how it goes. Until then, have a great day and enjoy your meal!